Tour Venice at night on day we board the ship

[markarmel]

Hello.We are boarding the Nieuw Amsterdam on Sept 9th 2011. Once we are settled in will we be able to leave the ship later that day to see Venice at sunset. We would love to be on the Grand Canal at this time of day.:)

[catl331]

We did a Venice cruise just this Sept. You can leave the ship as soon as you check in. My brother-in-law and his wife checked in and left their suitcases with security and then took a excursion to Murano. We arrived later in the day and were exhausted already because we did not sleep on the flight. They already were in Italy for a few days. We had planned to do Venice by night but went to bed early. Don't know if you would get to see a complete sunset but you could be on the Grand Canal at sunset.

I woke up early the next morning and it was interesting to watch Venice come alive. Nothing much going on until about seven and then all of a sudden the waters were filled with watercraft of all kinds and this was a Saturday. We were anchored at first at the cruise port but were moved by port authorities to a docking site at Riva dei Sette Martiri, between St. Marks and Arsenale because an Italian cruise ship wanted our spot. Actually it was a better spot as it was closer to everything we wanted to see. Just as were were ready to leave Venice though, a circuit board stopped working, :( and we had to stay another day in Venice. :) We missed out stop in Croatia. :( If your cruise is going east to Turkey etc, it was a fabulous cruise. :)

[Harry1954]

This is a common practice and well worth the effort as Venice is unique.

Additionally, when you are leaving port if the sun is still out, I suggest you make certain you are on the port side of the ship as the most unusual and beautiful vistas of the city will appear as you depart. Because you are high up and with the sun setting, you can see the mountains, the canals, the rich hues of the city all in one snapshot ... one of our favorite pictures of all our cruises.
harry